Instant Pot Cuban Ropa Vieja

One of my favorite Cuban recipes and one that reminds me of my abuela (grandmother) will have to be Cuban Ropa Vieja. Ropa Vieja is a shredded beef skirt steak married with Latin flavors. A very delicious comfort food!

My recipe is very much like how my Cuban abuela would make hers over the stove, but since I am always in a rush to make dinner, I use my trusty Instant Pot to do all the heavy lifting.


"A good cook is a fast cook." - Aydee Alvarez (Abuela)


Ingredients

  • 2lb Skirt Steak

  • 1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste

  • 2 8oz Tomato Sauce Cans

  • 1 Red Pepper

  • 1 Green Pepper

  • 3 Small Yellow Onion

  • 6 Large Whole & Peeled Garlic Cloves Diced

  • 1 Tablespoon Goya Adobo Powder

  • 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder

  • 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder

  • 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Powder

  • 1 Tablespoon Oregano

  • 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil or Other

  • 1 Jar Pimento Stuffed Olives w/ Juice

  • 2 Sazón Packets

  • 2 Bay Leaves

  • 1 8oz Beer (Corona Preferred) or Dry White Wine

  • 1-1/2 Cups of Sofrito (See Recipe)

  • Salt & Pepper to Taste






    Feeds: 4 People
    Prep Time: 5-7 Minutes
    Instant Pot Cook Time: 35 mins - 40 minutes
    Serve w/: On top of white rice with tostones & sliced avocado or side salad
    Low/No Carb Tip: Substitute rice for cauliflower rice or cauliflower mash.




Directions

  1. Slice red pepper, green pepper, and onion into strips. Set aside.
    (Trick: Start your rice in the rice cooker or stove while you are prepping.)

  2. Set your Instant Pot on Sauté mode and add olive oil. When oil is hot and skirt steak. Sear both sides of steak. When steak is seared, place on a plate and hold for later. (Trick: If your skirt steak is very long, cut in half so you can every brown and fit in pot.).

  3. Add red pepper, green pepper, and onions into pot and sauté for a 2 minutes. Add skirt streak back into pot and turn off sauté mode.

  4. Add rest of your ingredients into the pot and cover lid. Set Instant Pot mode to pressure cook for 35 minutes. After time is up, release pressure, and take steak out from pot and shred. Add shredded beef back into pot and pressure cook for an additional 5 minutes. (Trick: If you have time before serving this dish, after the shredding of the beef, you can set mode to Slow Cook for 1 hour until ready to serve.) ¡Buen Provecho!

quick meals, LatinJackie Hayden